


a cozy fireside chat

by laminy



Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, British Actor RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Christmas Vacation, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Holidays, Hot Chocolate, M/M, Oral Sex, Romance, Skiing, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:21:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laminy/pseuds/laminy
Summary: Joe and Gwil finally find the time to go on vacation together, renting out a house in Utah for a week of skiing, sex, and snow (and scary television shows). They have an amazing time.
Relationships: Gwilym Lee/Joe Mazzello
Comments: 17
Kudos: 23





	a cozy fireside chat

Ever since Gwil had visited for Sundance, he had wanted to go back to Park City. When he’d gone with Miranda and Wayne, they’d been so busy promoting _Top End Wedding_ , there was absolutely zero time to head out onto the slopes— that was just a hectic period in his life to begin with. He’d gone from the Golden Globes in LA, to Park City for Sundance, back home to London for the BAFTAs, and then back to LA again for the Oscars. Once it was over, he’d celebrated with a snowboarding trip to Switzerland, but Joe hadn’t been able to go. And Gwil still _really_ wanted to go back to Park City, just the two of them.

As with everything, it’s a pain to plan, though he knows they should be so lucky that their biggest problems in life are having trouble booking a vacation in-between their filming schedules. Everyone keeps telling him that February and March are the best times to ski in Park City, but they can’t go in February and March, because Joe will be in Oklahoma. And neither of their families will accept them missing Christmas so they can run off and go shag in the snow, so the holidays are out too. And they can’t miss Ben’s premiere in New York, not when it’s so rare that the four of them are all together. So they celebrate with Ben at the premiere, and then go upstate for a bit of a road trip, visiting Joe’s family. Then they head back to the city and all split up— Rami stays in New York, Ben flies back to London for more press and the holidays, and Joe and Gwil fly to Salt Lake City, for just over a week of skiing in the middle of December, which gives Gwil enough time to fly back to England for Christmas with his family.

Joe eagerly rubs his hands together, looking out the window as the plane takes off. Then he smiles over at Gwil. “Excited?” he asks.

“For the flight?” Gwil asks. “Not particularly, no.”

“Whatever,” Joe says, shaking his head, looking back out the window. “You’re going to love it.” He presses his forehead to the window as he watches JFK and New York disappear below them. After a few more moments, he makes a quiet noise and finally sits back in his seat, shifting to press his shoulder to Gwil’s. “Five hours,” Joe says.

“How lovely,” Gwil says. “Five hours with you, trapped in a metal tube with wings.”

Joe laughs, ducking his head to press a quick kiss to Gwil’s arm, about as much PDA as they can manage on a crowded plane. Maybe share an armrest if they’re feeling frisky. “Aw, it sounds so romantic when you say it,” Joe says, looking up to meet Gwil’s eyes, and Gwil smiles down at him.

“Everything sounds romantic when I say it,” Gwil says. “It’s the accent.”

Joe laughs again. “Yeah, fair enough,” he says. “Hey, are you saying my accent _isn’t_ sexy?”

“Perish the thought,” Gwil says. He shifts in his seat, stretching his neck, trying to get more comfortable. He tilts his head down, briefly nuzzling his nose over the top of Joe’s head. “Yes, of course I’m excited,” he murmurs, just loud enough for Joe to hear.

Joe’s smile grows as he settles a bit more against Gwil’s side. “Yeah, me too,” he says, and Gwil smiles. They're happy.

\+ + + + +

They rent a car at the airport in Salt Lake City, deciding to skip the shuttle, preferring to be completely on their own schedule instead of someone else’s. Gwil loads their bags in the back, while Joe sits behind the wheel, heat on, bouncing in his seat to try to warm up.

“All good,” Gwil says, opening the passenger door, climbing in alongside him.

“Thank god,” Joe says, and he reaches out, grasping onto the front of Gwil’s jacket, pulling him in for a kiss.

Gwil makes a noise of surprise, then smiles against Joe’s mouth, leaning in to deepen the kiss, reaching up to cup Joe’s cheek in his hand.

“Gwil,” Joe whines.

“Yes?” Gwil murmurs, licking at Joe’s mouth, moaning softly.

“Your fingers are freezing,” Joe says, pulling back a bit.

“Oh,” Gwil says, dropping his hand to his lap. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Joe says, and he kisses Gwil again. “I forgive you.” Another kiss. “Thank you for handling the luggage.”

“You’re carrying it into the lodge,” Gwil says, setting back in his seat, reaching up to grasp his seatbelt.

“Fine,” Joe says, and he buckles himself in as well, putting the car into drive and slowly pulling out of the parking space. “Do you want to eat?” he asks, glancing over at Gwil before he looks both ways, trying to follow the signs out of the airport.

“There,” Gwil says. “Get settled in first, maybe nap…”

“Oh god, if we nap, I’m never getting up again,” Joe says. He glances at the radio. “What’s the difference…two hours, okay. Yeah, not bad.” He nods a few times as he keeps driving, silent until he’s settled in, and they’re out the road, and then he looks over at Gwil again. “I can’t believe it,” Joe says.

“What’s that?” Gwil asks.

“Just that…we’re here,” Joe says. “It’s— kind of awesome.”

“It absolutely is,” Gwil says. “I can’t wait.”

“For me or the snowboarding?” Joe asks, and Gwil chuckles.

“Oh, I could never choose,” Gwil says.

“Great, thanks,” Joe says flatly, and then he laughs when Gwil reaches out, resting his hand on Joe’s leg, giving it a gentle shake. “If I crash because of you…” he says warningly, winking at Gwil.

“I’ll take all the blame, I swear,” Gwil says.

“Good,” Joe says. “Because you know everyone will think it’s my fault.”

Gwil laughs. “Mm, yeah, probably. That does remind me though, let me message people, tell them we’ve arrived alive.”

“Oh, thank you,” Joe says. They follow the highway, leaving Salt Lake City behind, driving into the mountains as Gwil texts and Joe softly sings along to the radio. Gwil puts his phone down for a bit, and reaches out, resting his hand on Joe’s leg again. “What do you think?” Joe asks.

“About?”

“Is it as pretty as you remember?” Joe asks.

Gwil looks around; they’re on a particularly boring stretch of highway, where it’s mostly flat and there’s not much to look at. It’s also the middle of the day, so nothing is lit up, nothing looks gorgeous. “Just you,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles.

“Just how romantic do you plan on being on this trip?” Joe asks.

“Oh, the most,” Gwil says proudly.

Joe laughs. “The most romantic?” Gwil nods. “Alright,” Joe says, “something for me to aspire to.” Joe waits a moment, then glances at Gwil. “I love you,” he says.

“Are you just saying that in an attempt to beat me at being the most romantic?” Gwil asks.

Joe rolls his eyes. “ _No_ ,” he says, and Gwil chuckles. “We’re on vacation, we’re in Utah— it’s a gorgeous state, you know,” he says. “Not just here. We should come back in the summer. Or _a_ summer, at least. If not this one.”

“I’d love that,” Gwil says.

“Seriously, the national parks,” Joe says. “Gwil, you have no idea. Sure, okay, England, your lakes…fuck your lakes.”

“ _Wow_ ,” Gwil says softly. “You know, I think there’s room in the world for both.”

“Whatever,” Joe says, shaking his head. “ _Anyway_. Remember? How I just said I love you?”

Gwil grins. “Yes, Joe,” he says. Joe looks over at him expectantly. “I love you too.”

“Yay,” Joe says softly, and Gwil grins.

It’s about 30 minutes of driving before they take the exit off the highway, coming to their first set of streetlights. “McDonald’s!” Joe exclaims as he slows to a stop. “First sign of civilization,” he says.

“We must be close then,” Gwil says, looking around. The light turns green and Joe slowly continues driving. “What do you think?” Gwil asks.

“About?” Joe asks. 

“Want to move to Utah?” Gwil asks.

“What’s over there on that mountain?” Joe asks, and he points over to right. Gwil assumes Joe’s just jokingly changing the subject, but there really is something over there.

“Eddie the Eagle,” Gwil says to himself.

“Huh?” Joe asks.

“Uh, that’s a ski jump,” Gwil says. “I’d wager that’s the Olympic Park.”

“Oh, no way,” Joe says. “We should find out if they're open or something. Awesome.” They keep driving, and after a few more minutes, Joe slows to a stop at another red, and looks around. “Gwil!” he says, pointing out the windshield. “Look! Does that— it says what I think it says?”

“ _Welcome to Park City_ ,” Gwil reads, and Joe dances a bit in his seat. “We made it!”

“We did,” Joe says. “We’re frigging here.” The light turns green, and Joe drives through, glancing at the sign again as they pass it. 

“Want me to find a supermarket for us to grab some food?” Gwil asks. “Fill up the fridge?”

“Do we want to do that now?” Joe asks.

“I can’t imagine you’ll want to run errands later,” Gwil says, amused.

“Let’s…” Joe trails off, thinking. He keeps looking outside at the homes and trees they’re driving by. “Let’s do lunch,” he says. “I know you said nap first, but I say, let’s do lunch, grab some food, then drive to the lodge.”

“Perfect,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles.

“Yeah?” Joe asks, and Gwil nods. “Alright, find me a restaurant, buddy. You’re my GPS.” 

Gwil opens Google Maps and does a bit of searching, then looks up at the road ahead of them, and shrugs. “Just keep straight,” he says.

Joe scoffs. “Couldn’t if I tried, lover,” he says, and Gwil rolls his eyes.

“On the _road_ ,” Gwil says. “It’ll be on your left, I think, we shouldn’t be able to miss it.”

“Just reach over and hit me when you need me to stop,” Joe says. 

“It shouldn’t be hard to— there,” Gwil says suddenly, pointing out the restaurant just ahead.

Joe glances over, trying to figure out how to get to that side of the road. Then the turning lane appears, and he slows down, moving over. He waits a few moments, giving Gwil an excited smile, and then he pulls over into the parking lot. Once they’re stopped, and Joe takes the keys out of the ignition, Gwil leans over and finally gives him another kiss. “Mm,” Joe murmurs, pulling back, fluttering his eyes a couple times before he gives Gwil another quick kiss. “I think I’m really going to like being able to kiss you whenever I want for a week.”

“Not _whenever_ ,” Gwil says, cupping Joe’s cheek in his hand, gently swiping his thumb over Joe’s cheekbone. “But close enough for me.” He kisses him once more and then pulls back, unbuckling his seat belt and climbing out of the car.

Joe groans as he does the same, stretching his arms above his head, bouncing up and down a few times. “ _Squatters_ ,” he says, reading the sign on the restaurant. “Interesting,” he says, narrowing his eyes at Gwil.

“It was just— on the map,” Gwil says. “Don’t be perverted.”

“Ugh,” Joe says. “Well, come on then,” he says, patting his tummy, looking around. He shivers a bit. “Nice and chilly!”

“It certainly is,” Gwil says. “Come on, let’s see what sort of food they serve, and warm up.”

Joe opens the door, holding it for Gwil, who smiles at him. Joe smiles back and gives a surreptitious pat on Gwil’s bum, ready to play it off as an accident should anybody notice. 

“Alright,” Gwil murmurs, “settle down.”

Joe laughs, and follows behind Gwil and the host to a booth along the side wall of the restaurant, giving them a lovely view of the parking lot. “Thank you,” Joe says to the host, nodding as he reaches up, taking off his jacket.

“Mm,” Gwil murmurs, looking down at the menu as he takes off his jacket as well, setting it down on the seat beside him. “Right up our alley, I’d say,” he says, looking over the section of appetizers.

“Good choice, Mr. Lee,” Joe says, nudging Gwil’s foot under the table. 

“Oh, I’ve done well, have I?” Gwil asks, and Joe nods.

“You’ll get your reward later,” Joe says, and Gwil raises his eyebrows before he laughs.

“Well, I can’t wait for that,” Gwil says.

“Oh, me either,” Joe murmurs, flipping to the next page of the menu, and then he looks up, smiling at Gwil.

“What?” Gwil asks. “See anything that looks good?”

“Well, yes,” Joe says, looking Gwil up and down, and then he chuckles. “I just…” He trails off, and shrugs. “I’m happy to be here. Really.”

“I know that,” Gwil says.

“No, I know,” Joe says. “I…but it’s nice. We’re on vacation. Together. A ski chalet, how romantic.” He looks back down at the menu. “Brewhouse Hummus, _romantic_.”

“I don’t really want to share that,” Gwil says, “but you’re certainly welcome to it.” He glances down. “You can help yourself to some mouthwash if you’re eating olives and tahini, thank you.”

“Terrible,” Joe say, shaking his head. “Come on, say something nice.”

“Joe, I’ve been waiting almost a year to come here with you,” Gwil says. He shifts, leaning forward a bit over the table. “When I was here, it was beautiful, and all I could think about was sharing it with you.” He reaches out, briefly resting his hand on Joe’s. “I’m happy we found the time to come together.”

“Me too,” Joe says softly, and Gwil sits back in his seat when their server appears.

“Can I start you two off with anything to drink?”

“One beer’s okay, yeah?” Joe asks, looking at Gwil as he flips to the drinks page. 

“Don’t see why not,” Gwil says, and he smiles over at the server. “We are on holiday, after all.”

\+ + + + +

After they finish up lunch at Squatter’s, Gwil guides them to a grocery store just a couple minutes away, and Joe grabs a cart. Joe looks around, grabbing snacks, while Gwil tries filling the cart with things he plans on actually cooking while they’re there. Joe grabs another large chocolate bar, and Gwil just chuckles, shaking his head. “What?” Joe asks. “It’s not like we won’t be burning calories, we’re at a ski resort.”

“Alright, fine,” Gwil says. “But wouldn’t you like something really nice for dessert one night?”

“Sure,” Joe says. “Who’s making it?”

“I’ll make it,” Gwil says. “Or we can find something here, serve it later.” 

“You don’t need to bake it for me,” Joe says. “You’re going to be so tired after all your snowboarding.”

“And I want you to eat a bit better than chocolate bars,” Gwil says, and Joe groans.

After they finish at the grocery store, they head to the liquor store that shares the same parking lot, and Joe looks down at everything they’re buying.

“It looks like we have a drinking problem,” Joe whispers. “Should we put some back?”

“What? No,” Gwil says, patting Joe on the shoulder as they walk up to the cash register. “It’s fine.” 

They load up the car with the groceries and drinks, and Gwil looks at his phone again for directions. “Ten minutes,” Gwil says, “or about.”

“Perfect,” Joe says, pulling out of the parking lot. He glances across the street, his face lighting up. “Ooh, Gwil!” he says, reaching over to pat Gwil on the leg. “Movie theatre, movie theatre! Oh, _two_!”

Gwil grins, looking across the street at the movie theatres, and he looks over at Joe. “We are absolutely due for a movie date night,” he says.

“ _Yes_ ,” Joe says, “score. Alright, left at these lights?”

“Yes, please,” Gwil says. He and Google Maps guide Joe to the rental office for the house they’re staying. It’s a straight, easy drive, and Gwil hurries in to go pick up the keys and codes, while Joe stays with the car. Gwil runs back out, keys in hand, jingling them excitedly on his finger as he climbs back in, leaning over to give Joe a quick kiss. 

“Good?” Joe asks, and Gwil nods. 

“They said it’s about another twenty minutes,” Gwil says, and Joe groans.

“Okay, thank god we ate and got groceries, because I would be in such a mood right now,” he says, and Gwil laughs.

“Come on,” Gwil says, pulling his seatbelt back on, “don’t get upset. It’s going to be lovely.” 

“Fine,” Joe says, and he looks over at Gwil for directions. Gwil starts them back on the road to the house, Joe threatening to give up and let Gwil drive when he has to go through a roundabout, and then both of them just look around in awe at the massive mansions lining the streets.

“Fuck,” Joe says, “I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised that Sundance is held in Rich City, but, wow.” 

“Did you not look at the place we booked?” Gwil asks.

“I mean…sort of,” Joe says. “I looked at what I wanted the most—”

“Hot tub, heated pool,” Gwil says.

“Yes, exactly,” Joe says. “Other than that…no. Is it…Rich City?”

“We’ll need to make a _BoRhap_ sequel to pay it off,” Gwil says, and Joe laughs.

Joe misses a turn a couple times, the roads getting more winding and twisting the closer they get to the house and the ski trail. They’re both thankful that at least the roads are clear for now, though they can imagine that one good snowfall, and they’ll be stuck in the house for a day or two. They reach an awkward turn in the road, where all the houses on the street look the same, and Joe has to pause for a moment, shaking his head.

“Gwil,” he says, and Gwil looks over at him. “I— are you leading me somewhere to kill me? What the— fuck, dude.”

“Pull in there,” Gwil says, pointing, and Joe sighs, then pulls off the road, up to a gate. “Here,” Gwil says. “This is it.”

“Where we’re staying?” Joe asks, pushing himself up in the seat, craning his neck, trying to look for a house.

“No, the road to where we’re staying,” Gwil says, climbing out with the car with the slip of paper with the key code.

“A— what?” Joe asks. He watches Gwil enter the code, and then Joe carefully drives up a bit further, watching the gate pull across. “Jesus,” he mutters, and Gwil turns, waving him through. Joe drives past the gate and glances back at Gwil, who gets into the car as the gate slowly closes behind them. “It’s a private road?” Joe asks loudly, looking at Gwil.

“I think it’s all owned by the lodge,” Gwil says, blowing warm air over his hands.

“Gwil, this is a _horror movie_ ,” Joe says.

“It’s not.”

“Gwil, come on.”

“Keep driving straight,” Gwil says, glancing at his phone.

“A _gate_?” Joe continues. “In the mountains. In the snow. In winter. We are going to die.”

Gwil laughs, looking over at Joe. “Nobody’s going to die.”

“They’re going to find my body in the heated pool,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs again.

“Turn right onto Summit View Drive you when you see it,” Gwil says. “After that, we should be okay.”

“Okay,” Joe says. “If you say so.” The road twists, and if they look up at one point, they can see a gondola high above them. The road is a dead-end cul-de-sac, and Gwil nods and points at the house in front of them as Joe slows down. Joe’s mouth falls open; he’s genuinely speechless as he looks at the house— the _mansion_ , holy shit. “Gwilym Alan Lee,” he says, looking over at him. “What did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Gwil asks. “Pull into the driveway at least,” he says, “get off the road.”

“I mean,” Joe says, and he drives up, pulling in front of a garage door. He puts the car in park, and turns the key in the ignition, looking at Gwil. “ _Gwil_. We did _not_ need all this.”

“Of course not,” Gwil says. “But it met our requirements, didn’t it?”

“I— was _must be big enough to hold a Yankees game_ one of the requirements?” Joe asks. “ _Gwil_.”

“Oh come on,” Gwil says. “It’s not like we can’t afford it. It’s a _house_. Yes, it’s expensive, but— you wanted a heated pool, and I wanted ski-in/ski-out, and this…was that.”

“Gwil,” Joe says again. “I—” He looks back at the garage door, and puts his fingertips to his lips, not biting them, he hates biting his nails, but he’s just in shock. “Gwil. We…this week.” He looks over at Gwil, opening his mouth meaning to say something, but he just shakes his head and says something else. “This is— you’re spoiling me.”

“ _We’re_ spoiling _us_ ,” Gwil says, leaning over to kiss Joe’s cheek. “We deserve a holiday.”

“Right, because our lives are so hard,” Joe murmurs.

“Because I’ve been filming in Italy and you live in New York and I miss you,” Gwil says. “Now come on. Let’s get in there, look around.”

“Should we bring our stuff?” Joe asks.

“Sure,” Gwil says, “we can just get it inside first.” They get out of the car, Joe stretching his legs a couple times, and then they grab their bags. Gwil glances around; he can tell there’s more than one entrance, but this one seems good enough. He unlocks the door, and glances back at Joe, who’s peering around him with interest. “Ready?” Gwil asks, and Joe nods, so Gwil pushes the heavy wooden door open. They’re on the landing of a staircase, and Gwil steps inside, and sets his things down. 

“Wow,” Joe says softly, following Gwil in. They look up, can see the high ceilings of the space above them, and Joe peers downstairs as well, not seeing much. There are so many windows here, the place is filled with the afternoon light, contrasted with the dark wood of the stairs, the beams in the ceiling, the railings. 

“Let's get everything in here, then," Gwil says, and they do just that, carrying their gear, the groceries, and the alcohol into the house, leaving it on the landing. They both take off their shoes, and shrug off their jackets, leaving them in a small cabinet by the door, and then Gwil smiles at Joe, reaching his hand out to him. “Exploring?" he asks, and Joe nods, silently taking Gwil's hand as he keeps looking around. “Upstairs or downstairs?”

“I guess…down,” Joe says, and Gwil smiles as they take the stairs down, careful not to slip on the shiny dark wood in their thick wool socks. They walk into what seems to be some sort of all-purpose room; there's a massive television, a fireplace, a pool table, and a bar. “Okay,” Joe says softly. “I feel like…yeah, we can spend some time in here.” He frowns though, looking along the back wall. “Gwil."

“Mm.”

“Is that a movie theatre?" Joe asks.

“It…” Gwil and Joe walk towards the back of the room, and realize that yes, it is. With two rows of seating. They keep walking down a hallway, finding a fucking _golf simulator_.

“Oh my god," Joe says, rubbing at his eyes. “Gwil."

“Just in case the weather's no good for snowboarding, I guess," Gwil says. "Could be fun.” They keep down the hall, and at the end, there’s another that goes left, and another that goes right, and at that moment, both of them realize just how big and confusing this place may actually be.

They start looking around, finding a bathroom, the first bedroom, another bathroom, and the laundry room. "Remember this spot," Joe says. “If we ever get lost, meet at the laundry machine.” Then they find another bathroom. And another bedroom. They wind their way back to the stairs, and Joe sees a small hallway, so he hurries down it, then turns back, walking back to Gwil.

“Well?” Gwil asks.

“Uh, panic room, and wine cellar," Joe says.

“The panic room certainly helps your horror movie theory,” Gwil says. “God. I— okay." He rubs his face. "I didn't realize how massive it was when I booked it."

"I'm not mad,” Joe says. "I mean, I'm pretty sure this place could sleep literally one hundred people, but I’m not mad. It’s just insane.”

“I think once we’ve done the tour,” Gwil says, "we should just…pick a wing.” Joe laughs. "Don't want to get lost wandering around in here.”

“We literally just need one bathroom, one bed,” Joe says. “So far we've found thirty bathrooms, and we've only been in the basement."

“Come on," Gwil says, and they head upstairs, past their things, to the next level.

"Now this we can handle,” Joe says. "Living room, kitchen, holy shit Gwil there's a fucking _elevator_.”

"Oh my god,” Gwil says. "Let's just find some place to sleep.” They keep going straight past the elevator, and they walk into a bedroom that makes them both stop walking, and Joe smiles over at Gwil. 

“Gwil.”

“Yes.”

“ _This_ ,” Joe says, looking around at the room— a massive stone fireplace, large windows with a view of the mountain, and a door that leads out onto the deck. “Oh my god,” Joe says, hurrying over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. “The hot tub,” Joe says, glancing back at Gwil.

“Close the door, it's bloody freezing,” Gwil says. 

Joe does as Gwil says, but then he turns around, looking up at Gwil, eyes dark. “ _This_ ,” he says again. “This is where we’re sleeping.”

“Is it?” Gwil asks, stepping closer to Joe, and Joe nods, reaching out to pull Gwil in by the waist.

“This bed,” he says, “and that hot tub…” He leans up, drawing Gwil down into a kiss. He moans softly against Gwil’s lips, and then opens his mouth under Gwil’s, moaning again. He pushes himself up and pulls Gwil further down, kissing him deeply before he pulls back, blinking up at him. “That’s where you’re going to fuck me,” he says, and Gwil smiles, cupping Joe’s face in his hands.

“Right now?” Gwil asks.

“Mm,” Joe cocks his head to the side a bit, thinking. “Let’s finish exploring,” he says, “and put everything away, and _then_ — ooh.” He turns, and hurries off into the ensuite. “Then we can have a bath together!” he calls out. 

Gwil follows him into the bathroom, looking around, impressed. Gwil doesn’t fit into many bathtubs, let alone with Joe or anyone else joining him. But they’ll fit in there. “Maybe open one of those bottles of wine,” Gwil says.

“I think so,” Joe nods. “Oh! Where do we get onto the ski hill?” he asks, and he takes Gwil’s hand again, and the two of them continue exploring. They find a few more bedrooms, one of which Gwil is pretty certain is the actual master bedroom, as if all the bedrooms here aren’t massive, and he asks if Joe wants to sleep in that one instead, but Joe just shakes his head; the one he picked may not be the _nicest_ , but it’s the closest to the hot tub and he’ll be damned if he gives up easy access to that.

\+ + + + +

Joe smiles across the bathtub at Gwil, reaching out under the water to gently run his fingers over Gwil’s ankle. He’s not even sure this can be classified as a bathtub, it’s basically just a smaller, indoor pool. And it is _amazing_.

Gwil smiles back, and then takes a sip of his wine. “This is nice,” he says.

“The wine, or me?” Joe asks.

Gwil groans and stretches out a bit, rolling his neck, then he settles back, sending little ripples across the water. “The wine,” he says finally.

“Knew it,” Joe says, but they’re both smiling, eyes seeming to sparkle with mischief. He sinks down a bit lower in the water, careful to hold his own wine glass above the water, but otherwise completely relaxed, and then he flinches a bit when his phone goes off, knowing from the sound of the notification that it’s a text from his mother. “Ugh,” Joe groans loudly, the sound echoing off the walls. “Seriously, Mom?” he mutters. Joe pushes himself up a bit, and then turns in the bathtub, reaching out to grab his phone from the floor.

“What does she want?” Gwil asks, taking another sip of wine.

Joe sighs, trying to dry his hand off so he can unlock his phone. Eventually he has to stretch out and carefully set his wine glass down, then he reaches out even further for the towel rack.

“Heavens,” Gwil says amused. “Seems like the quite the operation.”

“Shut up,” Joe murmurs, and Gwil laughs, watching as Joe finally manages to grab the towel, drying his hand just enough to unlock his phone. “She just wanted to check in to make sure that we haven’t broken an ankle yet,” Joe says, basically curled over the rim of the bathtub, looking down at his phone on the floor. “And is giving me some neighbourhood gossip.”

Gwil chuckles, and Joe just shakes his head. “Well,” Gwil says, “what is it? Spill.”

“I think she’s worried I’ll get snowed in here and miss Christmas,” Joe says.

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Gwil says.

“No, me either,” Joe says. “Let me just…” He types a quick message, saying that he’ll FaceTime her in a couple days, and then he jumps when he feels Gwil’s lips press to his upper back. “Mm,” Joe murmurs, glancing over at his shoulder to see that Gwil has set his wine glass down, and has moved through the water to curl against him. “What are you doing?” Joe asks.

“Distracting you,” Gwil murmurs, moving his mouth over Joe’s back.

“Mm,” Joe murmurs again, “from what?”

“The outside world,” Gwil says softly.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Joe replies, and he pushes his phone a few inches away, then rests his hands on the rim of the bathtub. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Gwil says, and he slides his hands down Joe’s ribs, settling on his waist. “I’ll probably ring up my parents in a couple days too.” He nips at Joe’s ear, then moves one of his hands again, over Joe’s lower back, then down over his ass. “But…”

Joe’s eyes flutter closed as he feels Gwil’s fingertips start to move over him, no pressing in yet, just gently teasing over him. “B— but what?” he asks, turning his head to press his chin to his shoulder, shivering despite the warm water.

“But I thought considering I plan on rimming you right about now,” Gwil says, “it might be best if you stopped talking to your mam.”

“Uh-huh,” Joe nods, and he pushes himself up a bit further out of the water until he’s practically folded in half, rim of the bathtub pressed against his stomach. 

“Does that sound good?” Gwil asks, and Joe just nods eagerly, biting down on his lip as Gwil’s mouth moves down over his spine. “You know the best thing about renting a whole house?” Gwil asks, mouth pressed to the boney knobs of Joe’s tailbone.

“Is it the golf simulator?” Joe asks, and Gwil laughs, the sound ringing through the bathroom.

“Almost,” Gwil says, moving his mouth further down. “But not quite.” He ducks his mouth, pressing his tongue to Joe, licking over him for a moment, pulling back when Joe moans. “We get to be as loud as we want,” he says, ducking his head down again.

\+ + + + +

Despite all the food that they bought and brought into the house with them, Joe ends up just craving pizza. Pizza, pizza, and more pizza, and then whatever else the pizza place sells. There’s no pizza on this side of the gate, though, so after they order it, Gwil has to take the car out, driving the ten minutes back to the gate, meeting the delivery driver there. Joe meets him outside, leaning up to give him a quick kiss before he helps Gwil carry everything back inside.

“Thank you,” Gwil says, and he sets what he’s carrying down to take off his jacket and boots. As he looks around, he realizes how low the lights are; the sun has set now, so the house is rather dark. Gwil picks the food back up, and follows Joe back upstairs to the kitchen, smiling when he sees the candles that Joe’s lit on the kitchen table. “This looks nice,” Gwil says.

“Found them in one of the drawers when I was looking for forks,” Joe says, looking over at Gwil. “Join me for some candlelight pizza?”

“My pleasure,” Gwil says, and he leans down, giving Joe a quick kiss. Joe’s already got the plates and cutlery out, so they lay out the food on the large counter, filling their plates, and then they each grab a drink before they sit down at the table. It’s big enough to fit a dinner party, but they sit beside each other, sharing a corner beside the fire place, though they don't have it on.

“Thank you for going outside for me,” Joe says.

“You’re welcome,” Gwil says, opening the bottle of Coke he’d gotten with his pizza. “You’d do the same for me.”

“Oh, totally,” Joe says, nodding, “absolutely.”

Gwil chuckles. “Don’t sound _too_ enthusiastic, or I may actually take you up on it,” he says.

“I will!” Joe exclaims. “Just wait. I will.” He picks up a slice of pizza, groaning when he see the cheese hanging off it. “Fuck me,” he murmurs, taking a bite. “Oooh, hot, hot,” he says, and Gwil just laughs. Once Joe’s had a drink and cooled down a bit, he looks over at Gwil. “Are we making any plans?” he asks.

“For what?” Gwil asks.

Joe shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “To make the most of it. We don’t want to miss anything while we’re here.”

“There’s nothing to miss,” Gwil says. “We’re here, together…” He trails off, and shrugs. “Honestly, even if I couldn’t go snowboarding once, it’d still be a lovely trip.”

“You’d be bummed,” Joe says.

“Oh, absolutely,” Gwil says, and Joe snorts a bit. “But I’d still say it was worth it.” He reaches out, resting his hand on Joe’s knee. “But sure, we can make a plan.”

“I just want to see a movie,” Joe says.

“Done,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles.

“God, you’re easy,” Joe says. “Maybe later, before bed, we can look and see. I also wouldn’t mind a nice dinner.”

“A nice—” Gwil mock gasps, looking around. “What’s this then?” he asks, and Joe grins. “I didn’t slave over a hot iPhone for two minutes to order you this pizza and have you not appreciate it!”

Joe shakes his head, taking a bit of pizza. “You’re so fucking…” he laughs, shaking his head more as he takes a drink. 

“Besides,” Gwil says, “I’ll _make_ us our nice dinner. That’s why we bought groceries.”

“Okay, okay,” Joe says, and he brings one of his feet up onto his chair, resting briefly on his knee. “I will love it.”

“I love you,” Gwil says, and Joe instantly melts, smiling at Gwil.

“I love you too,” Joe says softly, and Gwil smiles back at him.

They finish eating, including a couple chocolate molten lava cakes that are pretty mediocre, but still help with the sweet tooth. They put the leftovers in the fridge for what Joe’s sure will be a nutritious breakfast before they hit the slopes, and then Gwil grabs a couple of bottles of beer.

“You wanna watch something?” Joe asks, nodding towards the television, but Gwil shakes his head. 

“Grab a blanket,” Gwil says, “come on.”

Joe frowns a bit, but grabs a blanket that’s folded up over the back of the sofa, and he follows Gwil out onto the balcony. Joe shivers, watching Gwil get settled in on the patio sofa. “Maybe another blanket,” he says, and he hands the first one over to Gwil, hurrying back inside to grab another. He comes out with it wrapped around his shoulders, and then he sits down next to Gwil, curling up next to him on the sofa. Joe looks out over the balcony, and he does a double-take. “Holy shit,” he says softly.

“Nice, isn't it,” Gwil says, handing Joe his beer.

“I— wow,” Joe says, and he just smiles. From this side of the house, they can see the other houses on the mountain, lit up in the night. They can see the gondola over the mountain, and lights from the ski slopes. But the star of the view is the reservoir; even at night, it’s gorgeous. Joe can only imagine how it must look in the sunshine of summer. “Man,” Joe says, and he takes a drink, settling himself half-on Gwil’s lap, curling up against him. “Okay, Rich City isn't too bad,” he says.

“It’s amazing,” Gwil says. 

“Everything is sparkling,” Joe says softly. 

Gwil smiles, and turns, brushing his lips over Joe’s forehead. “This trip was a brilliant idea,” he says.

Joe snorts, pulling away from Gwil. “It was _your_ idea,” he says.

“Oh,” Gwil says, smirking a bit. “Was it?”

Joe rolls his eyes, and takes a drink before he snuggles back up against Gwil. “Well, thanks for sharing your brilliant idea with me.”

“My pleasure,” Gwil says, gently playing with Joe’s hair.

\+ + + + +

Joe’s heard of places that are ski-in/ski-out where you’ve still got to catch a shuttle from your hotel to the other side of the mountain, or walk ten minutes across the resort to get to the ski lift. But this place is _literally_ on the slopes. They get bundled up, walk out the back door, and walk maybe twenty feet to the hill. Gwil grins at Joe, clearly excited. Obviously. Joe knows that as much as Gwil loves him, the priority here is one hundred percent Gwil getting to snowboard every day.

God, Joe just hopes it’s not _every_ day. So much physical exercise.

“Are you ready?” Gwil asks, and Joe nods, feeling a bit nervous. He knows how to ski, but he also knows that Gwil is _much_ better at snowboarding than Joe is at skiing. He feels like he’s about to be left in the dust. But they each have a key back to the house, so they don’t have to stay together. And if Joe’s being honest, he predicts being back inside, having a hot shower, in an hour. Two at the most.

They stand there for a few moments, watching other people go down the hill in front of them, and Joe just can’t believe that they’re like— _on_ the hill. He bets those people are jealous of them. Which he knows is a dick thing to think, but he bets it’s true anyway.

“Alright then,” Gwil says, looking back and forth. “See you at the bottom?”

“You don’t have to wait for me,” Joe says, and Gwil scoffs. “What?” Joe says. “You’re gonna kick my ass. I don’t want you to waste your time waiting for me.”

“I’ll see you at the bottom,” Gwil says again. “How many runs do you want to do before we stop for a hot chocolate break?” he asks, giving Joe a wink.

“Oh my god, one,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs. “No, no,” Joe says, “we can— let’s do this.”

“Yeah?” Gwil asks, and Joe nods. “Alright, brilliant.” He leans in, kissing the tip of Joe’s nose. “Let’s go.” Gwil reaches down, adjusting the straps on his snowboard, and then he straightens out, and starts heading down the hill.

Joe has to just stand there and watch him for a few moments; even though as much as he just said Gwil doesn’t have to wait for him, he know that Gwil will, so Joe should probably get a move on right now. But he has to stay back and appreciate his boyfriend for at least a few seconds, come on. Gwil is actually _good_. Joe is okay. They probably shouldn’t even be on the same hill. Joe pushes off, and gently skis down. 

When he gets to the bottom, he skis out of the way of the others coming down behind him, and then looks around, skiing over to where Gwil is waiting near the chairlift. 

“Hot chocolate time yet?” Gwil asks, and Joe laughs, slightly out of breath.

“Hey, whatever you want, big guy,” Joe says, and Gwil grins down at him.

“Let’s do a few more runs,” Gwil says, and they get onto the chairlift, heading back up. When they’re near their house, Joe grins and nudges Gwil, and Gwil just smiles back.

They go down six or seven more times before they stop at the small cafe on the hill, each getting a hot chocolate and a small snack. They stand off to the side, huddled together, not wanting to take a table from anyone else. They don’t really speak, both already a bit too out of breath, and besides, there isn’t much to talk about, they’ve been doing the same thing together all morning. Besides, neither of them mind just being with the other one, and the cafe is loud enough.

They finish up, and head back out on the hill, going down a few more times, over and over, until Joe’s stomach starts to rumble and Gwil feels thirsty, so they head back up the hill, and then slowly head down, off to the side, pulling off the hill at their house. They unstrap their feet, and carry everything into the house, setting it down just inside the doorway.

“What should I make us?” Gwil asks, taking off his jacket.

“Fuck,” Joe groans, and Gwil pauses, frowning.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m tired,” Joe whines, and he rests his forehead on Gwil’s chest.

“Oh, no,” Gwil says softly, wrapping his arms around Joe, holding him close. “That’s terrible.”

Joe nods. “It is,” he says. “How can you be in the mood to cook?” he asks. “How do you do it?”

“I was mainly going to heat up soup and maybe make a sandwich,” Gwil says.

“Amazing,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs, stepping back.

They take off their gear, and Joe stretches his arms above his head, yawning loudly as they walk into the kitchen.

“Maybe you should stay back here this afternoon,” Gwil says, looking over at Joe as he goes to the cupboard.

“Trying to ditch me already?” Joe asks. “You meet some ski bunny down there I didn’t notice?”

“Yes, of course,” Gwil says. “Her name is Holly—”

“Oh, just perfect,” Joe says. “How nice for the Christmas season. Your parents will _love_ her.”

Gwil smiles, leaning across the counter to give Joe a kiss. “My parents love you,” he says softly.

Joe sighs, and then smiles back. “Thank you, I know.”

Gwil laughs. “Regardless of my parents,” he says, “if you want to stay here and rest this afternoon, I won’t blame you one bit.”

“No way,” Joe says, “I can’t give up on the first day. Let me give up tomorrow instead, okay?”

“Whatever you say,” Gwil says, opening the soup, pouring it out into the pot. “I predict an early night tonight.”

“Did we have plans?” Joe asks.

“No,” Gwil says, looking over at him. “But I wouldn’t mind making some popcorn, watching a film.”

“Mm, that sounds good,” Joe says. “Gwil, can I help you?”

“If you’d like,” Gwil says.

“Okay!” Joe says cheerily, pushing himself up, walking around the island to wrap his arms around Gwil’s waist, snuggling against him.

“Oh, is this helping?” Gwil asks.

“It’s helping me,” Joe says. “Mm, my big, tall, broad boyfriend…mm, yeah, it’s helping me a lot.”

“Bloody perverted,” Gwil mutters, but he grins at Joe. “Just gonna rub yourself off against me?”

“Too tired for anything else.”

“At least get the bread out,” Gwil says, and Joe groans, reluctantly pulling away from him. “Thank you, dear.”

“Yes, dear,” Joe mutters, and Gwil laughs again.

\+ + + + +

They spend the afternoon back on the hill, until about 4:30, when the sun starts to set, and they start to get hungry again, so they ski back into the house. Joe strips off all his clothes, and throws himself onto the bed, and Gwil has to practically drag Joe into the bathtub.

Gwil makes them chicken burgers and French fries, and then they curl up together on the sofa; Joe a lot more tired than Gwil. It’s not that Joe’s lazy, he’s definitely not, but that was also just a really long day. Gwil pops them popcorn, and they watch whatever looks okay on Netflix, and when they go to bed, Joe falls asleep almost immediately, curled up against Gwil.

The next morning is much of the same; they eat breakfast, go outside, and get hot chocolate about halfway through the morning. Joe does go back out on the slopes after lunch, but he heads inside a bit earlier than Gwil, FaceTiming home.

When Gwil comes back in, around 4:30 again, Joe’s already got supper in the oven, and he greets Gwil with a kiss.

“Well, if it isn’t my househusband,” Gwil says, and he nuzzles his nose against Joe’s before he kisses him again. “Did you have a lovely afternoon?”

Joe nods. “I did, yeah. Mom says hi.”

“Hi, Ginnie!” Gwil calls out loudly, as if she can hear him all the way in New York. “Thank you for making dinner,” he says to Joe.

“You don’t even know what it is yet,” Joe says.

“Doesn’t matter, I love it,” Gwil says, and he gives Joe another kiss.

“If you wanna shower now, it’ll probably be done when you are,” Joe says.

“Mm, I could get used to this,” Gwil says, winking at him before he heads off down the hallway to their bedroom. When he comes out the bedroom, bundled up in his comfy clothes, Joe already has the table set, and is pouring them glasses of water. “You’re a bloody miracle worker,” Gwil says.

“It’s my pleasure,” Joe says, and they kiss before they sit down.

After they eat, they stay at the table, chatting; Joe fills Gwil in with all the gossip from home, and Gwil tells Joe about some of the idiots he saw out on the hill after Joe left. They clean up and do the dishes together, and then Gwil snuggles against Joe, pulling him in.

“What’s up, big guy?” Joe asks, rubbing Gwil’s back.

“I think,” Gwil starts.

“Mm.”

“That I would _very_ much like to get in that hot tub.”

Joe pulls back, and grins at Gwil, and they head into the bedroom. The hot tub is already on to prevent the pipes from freezing, but Gwil goes to the control panel and turns up the jets, and then he walks over to his suitcase.

Joe looks Gwil up and down, watching him change into his swim trunks. Gwil glances over at Joe, smiling knowingly, and Joe smiles back.

“Something on your mind?"

Joe shakes his head. “Just trying to decide something,” he says.

“Oh,” Gwil says, reaching his hand out to rest on Joe’s waist, tugging him in towards him. “Anything interesting?” he asks.

“No,” Joe says, and he leans up, giving Gwil a kiss, cupping his face in his hands, fingers gently scratching against his beard. “Why don’t you go on ahead?” he says, stepping back.

“You alright?” Gwil asks, smile fading a bit.

“Yeah, of course,” Joe says quickly. “I’m just going to go grab us a couple drinks,” he says, and he playfully kicks at Gwil. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay,” Gwil says, and he turns around, walking towards the patio door.

Joe watches him for a moment, smiling, and then he turns, heading out of the bedroom, and down the hallway to the kitchen. Joe opens the refrigerator door, contemplating whether or not they want beer, or wine, or…he kind of wishes they had champagne. Hindsight. He grabs a bottle of wine, and contemplates a couple glasses, but he shrugs and decides that if Gwil’s too classy to share a bottle of wine with Joe, he’s too classy for Joe in general. Joe heads back into the bedroom, and glances out the window to the patio; Gwil has the lights on, and some of the lights from the ski hill are still on as well, but it’s a dark night.

Joe sets the wine down, and then he walks into the bathroom, grabbing a couple towels. Joe tugs off his shirt, and then pushes down his jeans, stepping out of them. He takes off his underwear as well, and then he just wraps one of the towels around his waist, not putting on anything else. Joe walks back out into the bedroom, grabbing the wine, and then he opens the door, heading out onto the patio. He shivers immediately, smiling over at Gwil, who’s settled back into the hot tub, arms stretched out along the edge. It’s just a fucking gorgeous sight, his handsome as hell boyfriend, steam coming off the hot water. “Brought us a drink,” Joe says, showing him the bottle.

“Oh, lovely,” Gwil says. “Anything to drink it with?” he asks.

“Our mouths,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs, the sound loud and bright, and Joe’s smile immediately grows because…just, Gwil. It’s Gwil. “Is that okay?” he asks, and Gwil nods, smiling up at Joe, reaching out for the bottle. Joe watches as Gwil unscrews the cap, takes a sip of wine, and then carefully sets the bottle down.

“Are you getting in?” Gwil asks, shifting a bit in the water.

“Of course,” Joe says, “renting a place with a hot tub was my idea, wasn’t it?” He smiles at Gwil, then drops his towel onto the patio.

“Oh,” Gwil says, blinking a couple times in surprise. “Hello,” he says, smiling.

“Hello to you too,” Joe says before he steps into the hot tub, carefully sitting down, stretching his arms out and leaning back. 

“Wine?” Gwil asks, picking the bottle back up, reaching it out to Joe.

“Oh, thank you,” Joe says, and he takes a drink, setting the bottle down, trying to have it within reach of both of them. 

“Am I overdressed?” Gwil asks.

“No, you’re fine.” Joe watches Gwil, just smiling at him, unable to stop. He kind of wishes they were sitting right beside each, or on each other, that would work too, but sitting across from Gwil, at least the view is nice. “ _Two bros, chilling a hot tub_ ,” Joe sings softly, “ _five feet apart ‘cause we’re not gay_.”

Gwil rolls his eyes, but smiles. “Joseph, be honest,” he says, and Joe just smiles. “Was this entire trip just an excuse for you to sing that to me?” Gwil asks.

“Me?” Joe says. “Never.”

“So, yes,” Gwil says, and Joe chuckles.

“You like it, admit it,” Joe says.

“Oh, I certainly do,” Gwil says, groaning softly as he stretches his arms out above him, tilting his head up to look at the sky. “It’s gorgeous here.”

Joe makes a quiet noise, and Gwil looks over at him. “Nothing,” Joe says. “Just thinking…next year.”

“That’s in just a couple weeks,” Gwil says, smiling.

“I meant this time next year,” Joe says, taking another drink of wine.

“Yes, Joe,” Gwil says, “I know.”

“We could come back,” Joe says. “Maybe not to this _exact_ house, though it is pretty nice…but….I kind of like the idea of that. Being our thing. _Oh, we’d love to see you, but we actually go to Utah every winter.”_ He looks at Gwil, gauging his reaction.

“That sounds amazing,” Gwil says.

“Really?” Joe asks.

Gwil nods. “Of course,” he says. “I’d love that for us.”

“Okay, good,” Joe says. “We’ll tell Ben to stop having movie premieres in December—”

“Terribly inconvenient for us,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles.

“Seriously, right?” Joe says. “Fuck him.”

“Fuck him indeed,” Gwil says, and they both laugh softly.

Joe dips one of his hands into the water, watching it swirl around him, and then he lifts it out, watching the steam come up.

“Warming up?” Gwil asks, and Joe smiles, nodding. 

“I could probably be warmer, though,” Joe says, and he sinks down a bit in the water, then he stretches his leg out, moving his foot up the inside of Gwil’s leg. 

Gwil smiles, and shifts on the seat, sinking down a bit lower as well, moving his hips closer. Then he reaches out, picking up the bottle of wine, taking another drink.

“Ooh,” Joe says, moving his foot up further, raising his eyebrows. “Is that a ski pole in your shorts or are you just happy to see me?”

Gwil snorts into the wine, trying not to laugh and spill it as he reaches out to set the bottle back down. “A ski pole?” he echoes. “I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not.”

“It is pretty big,” Joe says, and Gwil smiles, a bit proud and a bit embarrassed, shifting. “But you’re right, a ski pole probably isn’t the right word for it.”

“You are sitting so far away,” Gwil says softly, and Joe smiles, carefully pushing himself across the water, sitting down next to Gwil. 

“I hope you don’t plan on doing anything to ruin my soak,” Joe says. 

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Gwil says, reaching down through the water, running his hand over Joe’s thigh. He leans in, kissing Joe. 

“Because I came out here for some rest,” Joe says, and Gwil kisses him again, “and relaxation.”

“Mm,” Gwil murmurs, and he slides his hand under Joe’s ass, tugging him half onto Gwil’s lap.

“Gwil,” Joe says, running his hand over Gwil’s chest, “I’m being serious.”

Gwil pauses and pulls back, looking at Joe, seeing the cheeky grin on his face. “No, you’re not,” he says, smiling as well.

“No, I’m not,” Joe says, and he leans in, kissing Gwil again. “Well, I do like it out here,” he says. He looks around, trying to see if anybody could spot them. Anything is possible, but it seems unlikely.

“We can just sit,” Gwil says, and he stretches out, grabbing the bottle of wine, taking a drink before he offers it Joe. “Mm, we did do a lot of hard work today,” he says.

“We should’ve had a hot tub on set,” Joe says. “Walk straight off set into this bad boy, whew baby!”

Gwil laughs at that, and gives Joe another kiss, this one just a quick peck. “Are you going back out there tomorrow?” he asks.

Joe groans. “I don’t know,” he says. “Three days in a row? Gwil, I’m old.”

“Two months older than me,” Gwil says.

“So, _so_ old,” Joe says, smiling. “Are you?” he asks.

“I’d like to,” Gwil says. “I was thinking I’d go out tomorrow, and then the day after, we could sleep in a bit—”

“Talking my language, baby,” Joe says.

“Maybe go back into town,” Gwil says. “Go shopping, see a movie, rest up.”

“That sounds nice,” Joe says, absentmindedly scratching at Gwil’s chest. “Okay,” he says. “We can go back out again tomorrow.”

Gwil looks at Joe, narrowing his eyes a bit. “Don’t worry,” he says, “I’ll keep buying you hot chocolate.”

“I already said yes!” Joe exclaims. “But thank you, I will absolutely take that.”

“I know when you need a bribe,” Gwil says, rubbing Joe’s thigh. 

“You know me so well,” Joe says, snuggling closer to Gwil, taking a deep breath, and sighing.

“Tired?” Gwil asks, and Joe shakes his head.

“Just getting comfy,” he says. “Settling in.”

“Alright,” Gwil says, and he shifts as well. “Let’s settle in, then.”

“I’m definitely too sore to walk, though,” Joe says.

“Are you?” Gwil asks, and Joe nods. “Will you need me to carry you back into the house, then?” he asks, and Joe nods again, smiling. “Of course,” Gwil says.

Joe reaches up, cupping Gwil’s cheek in his hand, smiling at him. “If it helps, though,” he says, and Gwil looks at him expectantly, “you can ride me tonight.”

Gwil smirks, raising his eyebrows. “Really?” he says. “Well, then. My pleasure. Give you a bit of a rest.” He kisses Joe again, and Joe murmurs against his mouth, shivering a bit as Gwil’s fingers gently scratch over Joe’s thigh. “In fact,” Gwil says, pulling back, “I’m all rested up now.”

Joe smiles at Gwil. “Is that so?” he says, and Gwil nods. He gently guides Joe off his lap, and then pushes himself up, stepping out of the hot tub. Joe watches Gwil, the water dripping off him. Then Gwil hooks his thumbs under the waistband of his swim trunks, pushing them down. Joe swallows hard, looking up at Gwil, watching him step out of the wet fabric. “Jesus,” Joe mutters, reaching up to scratch at his chest. 

“Do you still need me to carry you?” Gwil asks, looking down at Joe. “Or should we just—”

“Oh fuck it,” Joe says, scrambling to push himself out of the water, hard cock bobbing as he moves. “Let’s just get in there.”

Gwil laughs, shivering as he follows Joe back to the bedroom. “We’re going to get the bed sheets all wet,” he says, closing the patio door behind them.

Joe bites on his lip, glancing around as he thinks. He hurries over to the bedside table to grab a condom and the lube, then he turns back to Gwil, reaching out to pull him down into a kiss. “I have a plan,” he says.

“Oh,” Gwil says, “and what is that?”

“I fuck you in front of the fireplace,” Joe says.

Gwil smiles, and kisses Joe again, before he glances over at the fireplace, looking at the floor in front of it. It seems comfortable enough. “Alright,” he says.

“Not that one,” Joe says, and he smiles, taking Gwil’s hand, leading him down out of the bedroom.

“Which one?” Gwil asks, and Joe just laughs.

“Which one’s the biggest?” Joe asks, and Gwil grins.

\+ + + + +

Gwil wakes up to Joe resting on his chest, looking up at him with a tired, happy smile. “Good morning,” Gwil murmurs, reaching up to rub at his eyes.

“Morning,” Joe says, and he tilts his head down to press a kiss to Gwil’s chest, nuzzling against him for a moment. “It’s a very good morning indeed.”

“And why is that?” Gwil asks, stretching out underneath him, snuggling back into the bed.

“Because we’re not exercising today.”

Gwil laughs loudly, nodding. “That’s right, we’re not. How did we ever luck out?”

“Mm.” Joe rests against Gwil, and they lay there together for a few more minutes, sort of half drifting back off to sleep, eyes tired and heavy. Joe doesn’t realize that he’s fallen back asleep until Gwil moves under him and Joe jerks back awake, lifting his head up. 

“You can stay,” Gwil says softly, brushing his fingers through Joe’s hair. “I’ve just really got to use the bathroom.”

“Mm, right,” Joe says, and he rolls away from Gwil, feeling Gwil climb out of bed.

Then Joe wakes up again some time later, having _no_ idea how long he’s been asleep for, but he pouts a little bit when he realizes that Gwil isn’t in bed with him anymore. “Gwil!” he shouts out. “You better not be skiing on our day off!” He pushes the blankets off his lap, and climbs out of bed. He looks around, and then walks over to his suitcase, grabbing a clean pair of underwear and a t-shirt, pulling them on. 

Joe walks over to the patio door, pressing his face to the glass, and then he opens the door just to see if Gwil’s outside in the pool, but he doesn’t see him, so Joe closes and locks the door. He goes to the use the bathroom, and then walks down the hallway to the kitchen. “Gwil, I—” 

Joe turns the corner into the kitchen, and sees Gwil, facing away from him, with his AirPods in, bobbing his head and dancing along to whatever he’s listening to as he makes them…what Joe must assume is brunch by now. Joe smiles, leaning against the wall, watching Gwil bounce up and down on his feet.

Gwil spins a bit, and then jumps when he sees Joe, and Joe’s smile grows as he straightens up. “Good morning,” Gwil says, speaking a bit louder than normal to hear himself over his music.

“Good morning,” Joe says. “What are you up to?”

“Making breakfast,” Gwil says, glancing at the stove. “What are you up to?”

“Watching my boyfriend dance around the kitchen while he makes me breakfast,” Joe says.

“Oh, lovely,” Gwil says, and he offers Joe his hand. “Dance with me then.”

Joe takes Gwil’s hand, letting him pull him in. “Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the food?” he asks.

“Oh, a little burnt bit never killed anyone,” Gwil says, and he leans down to give Joe a kiss. “Sleep alright?”

“How long has it been since you abandoned me in there?” Joe asks.

“Oh, about an hour, I’d say,” Gwil says, glancing at the clock.

“Gwil,” Joe whines.

“Joseph,” Gwil whines right back.

“It’s our day off,” Joe says, wrapping his arms around Gwil’s waist. “You should’ve gotten me up, let me spend some time with you.”

“It’s _all_ our day off,” Gwil says. “We’re on holiday!” He kisses the top of Joe’s head, humming softly.

“Fleetwood Mac?” Joe asks after a moment.

“God, you’re good,” Gwil says, and he kisses Joe’s head again before he steps back. “Pour us some drinks, you lazy arse. I’ve been slaving over this hot stove…”

“Oh, whatever,” Joe says, but he walks over to the refrigerator anyway, grabbing a carton of orange juice. “What are you making me?”

“Pancakes and bacon,” Gwil says. “Growing boy.”

“Mm, damn right,” Joe says, patting his stomach as he walks back over to the island, setting the carton down. 

“What do you want to do today?” 

“The same thing we do every day,” Joe says, “try to take over the world.”

“Right, and after that?”

“Did we want to do dinner before the movie?” Joe asks.

“Sure,” Gwil says. “I’ll probably need an afternoon snack, though, if we’re not eating until late.”

“We will add it to the to-do list,” Joe says. “ _Find Gwilym Lee an afternoon snack_. Besides myself, I assume.”

“Oh, dear,” Gwil says, starting to laugh. “That was terrible.” He turns off the stove and picks up the pan, sliding the pancake out onto his plate. He sets the pan back down, and then picks up his plate. “Yours is just there,” he says, nodding towards another plate on the counter. Gwil walks over to the kitchen table, sitting down, and Joe follows him, first with his plate and a glass of juice, and then he takes a separate trip to grab the other glass.

“Thank you for making me breakfast,” Joe says, looking over at Gwil.

“You’re welcome,” Gwil says, taking a bite. “My pleasure.”

Joe watches him for a moment, and Gwil looks over at him, just blinking.

“Yes?” Gwil asks, mouth still full.

“Do you plan on tuning me out for the entire morning, or—”

“Oh!” Gwil says, fork clattering against his plate as he reaches up to take out his AirPods. “Sorry, ha, didn’t even realize. _No_ , I’m not tuning anyone out. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Joe says. “It was cute.”

“I certainly am,” Gwil says, picking up his glass of orange juice.

“How much are you missing snowboarding right now?” Joe asks.

Gwil shakes his head, picking up a piece of bacon. “Not at all,” he says. He takes a bite, chewing as he nods. “I’m perfectly happy to look forward to spending the entire day with you.”

“Do you want to swim later?” Joe asks.

Gwil shrugs. “We certainly can,” he says. “But I don’t mind one bit being warm and comfy all day. As long as I’m with you.” He reaches out, resting his hand on Joe’s leg as he continues to eat. 

“You’re such a big softie,” Joe says, watching Gwil.

“I pride myself in it,” Gwil says, giving Joe’s leg a gentle squeeze. He’s quiet for another moment, letting Joe bask in the romantic glow until Gwil speaks again. “I am positively buzzing at the idea of fresh popcorn tonight.”

Joe snorts, and then laughs. “Really?”

“What is better than hot popcorn and the biggest drink they sell? Not a damn thing.”

“Being on holiday with your boyfriend.”

“Not a _damn_ thing,” Gwil says again.

\+ + + + +

Joe itches to take Gwil’s hand as they walk out of the movie theatre, and they probably could; the sun has already set, it’s not very busy, it’s Park City. He highly doubts people here are going to recognize either of them. It doesn’t seem like anybody has so far. But still, when they come out to the public, Joe wants it to be on their terms, and no one else’s.

They walk back to the car, and Gwil rests his arms on the roof, looking over at Joe.

“What's up, buttercup?” Joe asks, glancing at Gwil as he takes out the keys. 

“Nothing,” Gwil says. “I’m just wondering…what are our plans for the rest of the evening?”

“Oh,” Joe says, “I don’t know. I just assumed we were going back home. What are you thinking?”

“I’m not ready to be cooped back up inside,” Gwil says.

“I’m not ready to be thrown back onto the ski hill,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs.

“Never,” Gwil says. “Maybe just a short walk?”

“Sure,” Joe says, glancing down at what he’s wearing. “Where to?” he asks.

“I’ll be your satnav,” Gwil says, rapping his knuckles on the roof a couple times.

“Okay,” Joe smiles, and he unlocks the car, and they both climb in.

Gwil takes out his phone, and starts guiding Joe— “turn left— sorry, _right_ , out of the parking lot—”

“Gwil, you better not get me lost. I better not die in Utah.”

“Oh, hush,” Gwil says gently, reaching out to rest his hand on Joe’s leg. “Go straight for awhile, then we’ll get on the highway, heading towards Heber City.”

“Heber who?” Joe asks.

“Don’t worry about it.”

They don’t drive all the way to Heber City, though, getting off the highway again after a few minutes, and Gwil guides Joe down a road that eventually opens up to a large body of water.

Joe’s brow furrows, and he glances out the window. “Is that— the reservoir?”

“It is,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles at him. “Thought we might want to see it up close.”

“Yes, please,” Joe says softly. They drive past the sign for Jordanelle State Park, which really doesn’t look like much of a park, definitely not at night, not at this time of year, but Joe’s still itching to get out. Joe keeps driving until he finds the parking lot, and then he looks over at Gwil. “Come to kill me,” he says.

“Absolutely.”

“Throw me right in.”

“Quick and easy.” Gwil unbuckles his seatbelt, then leans over to give Joe a kiss. “Come on,” he says. “There are little walking trails that go around.”

“In the woods?” Joe asks.

“Heavens, no,” Gwil says. “I don’t want to freeze to death— just get some fresh air.” They climb out of the car, and Gwil holds his hand out, waiting for Joe to walk around around to take it. 

“So that means…” Joe looks around at the surrounding mountains, trying to determine which direction they’re facing. “We’re…up there….somewhere.”

“Yes, somewhere, indeed,” Gwil says. There’s a small walking trail around the shore, cleared of snow, but they still hold each other tightly, just in case they slip. Gwil takes a deep breath, then breathes out, pretending to blow smoke rings in the air.

“Imagine living here,” Joe says. “Like…right here.”

“Well, you have the Hudson,” Gwil says. “I’ve got the Thames.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs. “This is not the same as the _Hudson_ , Gwil, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hyde Park is very picturesque,” Gwil says. “But yes, this is beautiful too.”

“What made you want to come down here tonight?” Joe asks, looking over at him. 

Gwil smiles, and almost on reflex, pats his pocket. “Just thought it looked so lovely from the house,” he says. “Looks even prettier up close.”

Joe stops walking, and playfully tugs Gwil down until they’re face to face, just a couple inches away from each other. “Like me, right?” he asks, and Gwil grins, giving him a quick peck.

“Just the same,” Gwil says, straightening back up. “No, I don’t know,” he says. “We were out, didn’t think we needed to be in the house all night.”

“And you know me,” Joe says, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Gwil looks over at him, smiling. “Well, that’s good to know,” he says, patting his pocket again.

“Mm,” Joe says, bouncing up and down on his feet a couple times, looking out over the water. “I wonder how deep it is.”

“Do you plan on going swimming?”

“No,” Joe says, “but if you're taking me on a tour, I expect some information from the tour guide.”

“Oh, and is that me?” 

“Well, it ain’t me.”

Gwil laughs, and takes out his phone. “292 feet,” he announces after a moment.

“Well, shit,” Joe says. “That’s deep.”

“Does that dissuade you from jumping in?”

Joe shivers, nodding. “It certainly does.” He snuggles against Gwil’s side. “You’d save me.”

“Oh, but it’s so very cold,” Gwil says.

“Thanks, Gwil.”

“Anytime.”

They slowly walk the winding walking trail; they’re the only ones out there, which isn’t really that surprising. Most tourists to the area are going to be up on the ski hills, or in the lodge, staying warm, not going for a night walk around a reservoir in the winter. Or late fall, whatever, Joe shrugs.

“Was your fresh hot popcorn everything you dreamed it would be?” Joe asks.

“Oh, heavenly,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles. “What?” Gwil asks, glancing at him.

“Sometimes I can’t tell how much you actually speak like that, or how much of you thinks that’s how stereotypical British people speak.”

Gwil blinks a couple times. “Sorry, was that English?” he asks.

“Whatever,” Joe says, grinning, “you know what I mean.”

“Oh, crumpets, fancy a cuppa, chuffed to bits, _God Save the Queen_ ,” Gwil says. “Like that?”

“Just like that,” Joe says. “ _Oh, heavenly_. How posh! My fancy British boyfriend.”

“What about, _oi mista! You me dad?"_

Joe starts laughing, squeezing his eyes shut. He lets go of Gwil’s hand as he doubles over, while Gwil just grins at him. “That’s—” Joe keeps laughing, shaking his head. “God, that’s awful,” he says. “I—” Joe laughs some more, and Gwil watches him. “You’re— yes. Please do a role where you talk just like that.”

“I will,” Gwil says, “next up, I promise.” He leans in, kissing Joe’s temple, and then they continue walking along the trail.

“Are we going back on the hill tomorrow?” Joe asks.

“Well, I am,” Gwil says. “I don’t know about you.”

“Ugh, I will,” Joe says, pouting a bit. “For you.”

“Thank you.” Gwil looks over at Joe, then reaches out, taking his hand just to give it a gentle squeeze. “I did have an idea, though.”

“Gwilym!” Joe exclaims. “I told you when we started dating, _I_ have the ideas around here.”

“Right,” Gwil says, “I just keep quiet and look pretty.”

“Exactly!”

“What about if we go all day tomorrow,” Gwil starts, “and then the day after, we can finish up a bit earlier, drive back into Salt Lake for the afternoon? See what there is to do there.”

Joe smiles at Gwil, nodding. “Yeah, I like that,” he says. “That’s sounds— _jesus!_ ” Joe slips on an icy patch of the trail, sliding and clutching at Gwil, trying to keep his balance, while Gwil just laughs. “Oh my—” Joe clutches at his chest, shaking his head. “What the—” When he’s finally steady, he looks around, shaking his head, and then just glares at Gwil. “And you laugh! I almost die, and you laugh!”

“In my defence,” Gwil says, “you looked absolutely insane.”

“Fuck you!” Joe says, giving Gwil a playful push. “Show me how I looked!”

Gwil takes a step back from Joe, and dramatically spreads his arms out, kicking his legs, flailing around. “Whoa, whoa, whoaaaaa!” he exclaims, and then he makes an actual noise of surprise when Joe pushes him again, this time a bit harder, and Gwil falls back into the pile of snow around the trail. 

Joe laughs, and then jumps into the snow next to Gwil, snuggling against him.

“I can’t believe you!” Gwil exclaims. “We’re going to get hypothermia, you know.”

“You were a dick!” Joe says, grinning at Gwil. “I was a dick back.”

“Our arses are going to be soaked for the car ride back,” Gwil says.

Joe laughs again and shrugs, leaning in to give Gwil a kiss. “We’ll get in the hot tub when we’re back,” he says. He struggles to push himself up a couple times, slipping on the snow, and Gwil laughs again. “Goddammit,” Joe mutters, finally standing up. He looks down at Gwil as he brushes snow off himself.

“You’re not going to offer me a hand?” Gwil asks.

“No,” Joe says, “I know you better than that. You’ll just pull me back down.”

Gwil grins, and then pushes himself up. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he says, wiping the snow off his jeans, reflexively patting his pocket before taking Joe’s hand again. “I should throw you in the bloody reservoir for that.”

“When we come back,” Joe says. “In the summer.”

“Deal.”

\+ + + + +

Joe wraps his arms around his knees, drawing them up to his chest, and then he looks over at Gwil, who goes back and forth between watching the television and looking away every time he thinks something is about to pop out at them. Which, frankly, is quite often, considering that Gwil has decided that _this_ is the best time to finally watch _The Haunting of Hill House_. Genuinely, what the hell, Gwil. Waiting until they’re staying in a huge empty house with a million rooms, and plenty of places for ghosts to hang out? It takes everything Joe has in him to not just call Gwil a dick for making him sit through this.

 _Actually_. “I hate you,” Joe says softly, and Gwil smiles at him, glancing back and forth between Joe and the television.

“Not having any fun?” Gwil asks.

“Is this fun for you?”

Gwil glances back at the television, and then jumps. Joe jumps as well, even though he didn’t even see what happened. 

“Oh my god!” Joe exclaims, and he grabs a pillow, covering his face with it.

Gwil laughs loudly, mostly with nerves, and shifts on the sofa, reaching out to take his drink.

“Gwil,” Joe says, “this is such a bad idea.”

Gwil smiles, and leans over to press a kiss to Joe’s forehead. “It’s just a show, dear,” he says. “You know those, right? You’ve been in a few.”

“It’s creepy,” Joe says, and he glances around, pushing himself up to peer around what parts of the house he can see. He’s not sure he likes all the windows right now either. 

Gwil reaches out, resting his hand on Joe’s knee. “This episode’s almost over,” he says. 

“Then we find something fun to watch,” Joe says, resting his chin on Gwil’s hand, and Gwil smiles, giving Joe’s knee a gentle shake. 

“I’ve got a couple ideas,” Gwil says. 

Joe glances at him, and then looks back at the television. “The things I do for love,” he murmurs, and Gwil smiles, leaning over to kiss Joe again, this time on the temple. 

“Thank you, dear,” he says, playfully nuzzling against Joe, and Joe can’t help but smile. They’d gotten up early this morning, and did runs on the ski hill all morning before heading back to the house. They’d showered and gotten changed, and then drove into Salt Lake City. They’d eaten, gone to a museum, went on a short walk, and then picked up supper on their back into Park City. It was nice. It wasn’t much a day, nothing special, but just…nice. Joe knows he’s never felt as comfortable with his previous partners, and he thinks that Gwil feels the same way about him.

But this, right now? Making him watch this? Gwil is a _dick_.

Gwil sits back, and they keep watching the episode, Joe squeezing his eyes shut a couple times as more ghosts are revealed, and then finally it ends, Joe’s heart pounding, while Gwil just has a massive grin on his face.

“Okay, okay, off,” Joe says, and he reaches out, grabbing the remote, exiting out of Netflix. “Jesus,” he says, dropping his feet to the floor, but then he feels creeped out and lifts them back onto the sofa. “Enough of that.”

“I like it,” Gwil says. “It’s great fun.” Joe groans, and Gwil pushes himself up, grabbing their empty drinks, walking over to the kitchen.

“Great fun,” Joe mutters, shaking his head. “I— what? Gwil, it’s terrifying.”

“That’s why it’s fun!” Gwil exclaims.

Joe sighs, and looks back at the television, and then he looks around the house some more, trying not to think about the fact that the house is so huge, with so many staircases… Joe just pouts a little, tugging the blanket over his lap, trying to protect his feet from demons. “What do you want to watch now then?” he asks.

“Watch?” Gwil asks, leaving the glasses to dry, walking back into the living room to lean over the back of the sofa.

“Yeah,” Joe says, tilting his head back a bit up to look up at him. “You said you had a couple ideas.”

Gwil smiles, and gives Joe a quick kiss. “Not to watch,” he says. “To play.”

Joe frowns slightly in confusion, and then he shakes his head. “Oh no, no— what, _do you want to play a game?_ Nope! Not me, Jigsaw, back off.” Gwil laughs loudly. “God, you really did bring me here to kill me,” Joe says. “Gwil,” he whines, kicking his feet a couple times, “that’s such a dick move.”

“Oh, is it?” Gwil asks. “I’m terribly sorry.”

“You should be,” Joe says. “Well, what do you want to play? What did you do, pack Catan or something? Oh god, the golf simulator?”

Gwil smiles, and gives Joe another quick kiss. “Hide-and-seek,” he says.

“Gwil!” Joe exclaims, and Gwil laughs. “I— what— seriously? What is wrong with you? Hide-and-seek? In a big haunted mansion—”

“I think you’re making at least part of that up,” Gwil says.

“After you just made me watch the scariest shit I’ve ever seen,” Joe continues. “What kink is this? Where do you get off?”

“You’ll see,” Gwil says, and he reaches out, carefully fixing a piece of Joe’s hair. “I promise it will be worth it.”

Joe narrows his eyes up at Gwil, studying him.

“What?”

“Trying to remember just how many people know _exactly_ where I am,” Joe says. “And exactly who I’m with…”

Gwil smiles. “I promise, your life is not at risk. I just had an idea, and I think you’ll like it, okay?”

Joe keeps studying him for a few more moments, and then he sighs, nodding. “Okay,” he says, “fine. Hide-and-seek. What are the rules?”

Gwil shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “You’re going to be doing the seeking, you can make the rules. I don’t want an unfair advantage.”

“Hmm.” Joe pushes himself up off the sofa, thinking. “First, once you’re hidden in your spot, you have to stay there. I don’t want to spend all night following you up and down the stairs.”

“Deal.”

“You can’t lock yourself in the panic room.”

Gwil snorts. “That sounds very fair.”

“Safe word,” Joe says. “If I say it, I’m done, for real.” He purses his lips, thinking. “ _Starbucks_.”

“Okay,” Gwil smiles.

“You can’t purposely scare me.”

“Heavens, you must have a _very_ low opinion of me,” Gwil says, voice low, watching Joe. “I promise, I won’t.”

Joe _tsks_ his tongue, thinking. “This house is huge,” he says. “I’m going to be screwed. No going outside!” he says quickly. “That includes the patio, the balcony, the pool, and the hot tub, you have to stay _inside_.”

“Okay,” Gwil says. “I think I already have an idea of where to go.”

“And no elevator!”

“I swear it.”

Joe sighs. “What should I count to?” he asks.

Gwil rests his hands on Joe’s shoulders, guiding him over to the kitchen island. “Stay here, and count to a hundred,” he says. He leans in, kissing Joe’s cheek, and then gives him a pat on the bum.

“Should we set a time limit?” Joe asks.

“Oh, I don’t think it will take that long,” Gwil says. “But you say _Starbucks_ whenever you’d like, and I’ll come out, I promise.”

“Okay,” Joe sighs, and he closes his eyes. “I get to pick what we do after, though. And we’re sleeping with the lights on.”

Gwil laughs softly. “Yes, dear, whatever you say.”

“Okay,” Joe says. “Ready?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“One-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi…” Joe hear Gwil’s footsteps scamper off to the right, and he hears Gwil laugh softly, so that makes Joe smiles as well. He shifts on his feet, and keeps counting; he feels like he loses track around forty-five-Mississippi, mumbling a bit, but he’s pretty sure Gwil’s not going to call him on it. Joe pauses his counting for a moment, trying to hear where Gwil might be, but there’s no sound, so Joe just keeps counting.

“Ninety-eight-Mississippi, ninety-nine-Mississippi, one hundred!” Joe yells. “Ready or not, here I come!” Joe opens his eyes and knocks his knuckles a couple times on the counter, and then immediately walks around to look at the other side of the island, thinking that Gwil might be hiding there.

Suddenly, Joe’s hit with the realization that Gwil may find it too hard to hide in a lot of smaller places. He can probably rule out cupboards. “Good,” Joe says, smiling. “Serves you right.” He quickly covers the kitchen and the living room, and then sighs, heading down the hallway to their bedroom, since that’s the direction that he heard Gwil run off to. He glances around, ducking his head into the bedroom, and then he makes a quiet noise, trying to think. It’s always so much more fun to hide than to seek. Who agrees to this shit?

Joe heads back down the hallway, and wonders if he should head down the stairs, or cross over the floor to the back staircase that goes up. Then Joe looks at the staircase, and smiles faintly. He walks over, and reaches down, picking up Gwil’s sweater from the bannister. Joe gently rubs his thumb over the fabric, and then starts heading down the stairs, following what he assumes is a breadcrumb of sorts. 

Joe walks downstairs, and glances around. He checks on the other side of the sofa and the chairs, behind the bar, and then he walks over to the theatre, glancing in the rows. When Joe starts down the hallway, he sees Gwil's t-shirt, and he smiles again, reaching down to pick it up. 

They came down here the first night, but really haven’t spent much time otherwise. Joe heads down the hallway, and turns right. There's the laundry room straight ahead, and Joe thinks maybe Gwil remembers that they said they’d meet there, but it's empty. There's an empty bathroom, and then a massive bedroom with three bunk beds. Joe hops up just to check, but it’s empty too. It’s attached to a massive bathroom, so Joe looks in there too, but nothing.

Joe steps back out into the hallway, heading down, and then he sees Gwil’s sweatpants on the floor. “Oh, Gwil,” Joe says playfully, “I think I've found you.” He glances quickly into the bathroom, but the shower is all glass, so he doesn’t think Gwil could hide in there. He turns and steps into the bedroom, seeing Gwil’s boxer briefs on the floor, and then he sees Gwil on the bed, naked, legs spread, body illuminated by the lamp on the bedside table.

“What should I say, now that I’ve been found?” Gwil asks, reaching down to gently stroke himself.

“You didn’t make it very difficult for me,” Joe says, leaning against the door frame. 

“Well, you didn’t seem to think it would be a very fun idea,” Gwil says, groaning softly, thrusting up into his fist. “I didn’t want to drag it out.”

“Well, thank you,” Joe says, and he finally steps into the room, glancing at the windows; it’s dark outside, and Joe knows it’s fine, but he still think it’s a little creepy, so he walks over to the window, closing the blinds. 

Gwil smiles, watching Joe set his clothes down on the floor, still stroking himself as Joe walks back over to the door, closing and locking it. “Worried someone will sneak up on us?” Gwil asks, and Joe glares at him for a moment.

“Don’t _say_ that,” Joe says, and Gwil laughs, letting go of his cock, resting his hand on his stomach.

“Trust me, we’re safe,” Gwil says. “Nobody here but us chickens.”

Joe smiles, looking Gwil up and down, and he wets his lips before he pulls off his own t-shirt, dropping it down onto the floor with Gwil’s clothes. “Was this part of the plan all along?” he asks.

“Well, not originally,” Gwil says. “I really was just having a brilliant time watching Netflix.”

“Of course you were,” Joe says, pushing down his sweatpants and his underwear in one go, stepping out of them and kicking them to the side. 

“But then I could tell that you were probably going to pout all night—”

“Pout? I do not _pout_.”

“Unless you got your way,” Gwil continues. “So then I thought we’d have a bit of fun.”

Joe climbs onto the mattress, settling between Gwil’s thighs, leaning down to kiss him.

“But then,” Gwil says in between kisses, “you found me so quickly.” He runs his hands up and down Joe’s back, pulling him in closer. “It might not have been as much fun as I’d hoped.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Joe murmurs, pushing himself up a bit, bracing himself above Gwil, deepening the kiss. “ _This_ part is pretty fun, at least.”

“See any ghosts?”

Joe groans, shaking his head. “I hate you,” he says, and Gwil laughs. Joe sits back a bit and looks around the room, seeing lube and condom on the bedside table. He looks back at Gwil in surprise, and smiles. “Well, well, you came prepared,” he says.

“Mm,” Gwil murmurs, and he shifts on the mattress, spreading his legs a bit further, and Joe glances down, biting his lip.

“Gwilym Lee,” Joe says, running his hand up the inside of Gwil’s thigh, pushing it up a bit. “Did you come down here and finger yourself?”

“Well, I didn’t know how long you were going to take,” Gwil says, groaning softly as Joe dips his fingers down, gently pressing against him. “Thought I’d get bored.”

“You made it pretty easy,” Joe says. “I’m pretty, but I’m not dumb.”

Gwil laughs, and the sound breaks into a moan as Joe carefully pushes two fingers into him, gently wiggling his digits to feel how stretched Gwil is. “You are very pretty,” Gwil says softly, and Joe smiles, leaning up to give Gwil a kiss.

“Thank you, darling,” Joe says, and he carefully pulls his fingers out of Gwil, and reaches over, grabbing the lube and the condom. “Do you think you’re ready?” he asks. 

“I think so,” Gwil nods, watching Joe open the condom. “But you know I never turn down a good fingering.”

“Oh, Gwil,” Joe says, looking at him, “I know. Trust me.” Gwil laughs again, and Joe smiles and winks at him, before rolling the condom down. Joe opens the lube, and gives himself a few quick strokes, eyes fluttering and letting out of a soft groan when he gives the head of his cock a gentle squeeze. He reaches out, rubbing the excess lube over Gwil, dipping his middle finger in, curling it. 

“God, Joe,” Gwil murmurs, rolling his head from side to the side on the pillow. 

“Mm,” Joe moans, slipping his finger out, leaning over Gwil to kiss him as he takes his cock in hand, settling between Gwil’s hips. He slides the head of his cock over Gwil a couple times, and then deepens the kiss as he hitches Gwil’s hips up, and starts pushing into him.

Gwil’s head tilts back, pressing against the pillow, breaking the kiss. Joe drops his mouth to Gwil’s chest, brushing his lips over Gwil’s skin as he keeps pushing inside him. “Joe,” Gwil murmurs, reaching up, brushing his fingers over Joe’s hair, gently gripping at him. “Love you so much,” Gwil says, and Joe smiles against Gwil’s chest, nodding slowly.

Joe finishes pushing in, feeling Gwil open around him and grip at him, and then he lifts his head up a bit, catching Gwil’s eye. “Okay?” he asks softly.

“Absolutely.”

Joe smiles again, and pushes himself up, kissing Gwil again. The shift in movement spreads Gwil’s legs even further, and Gwil groans against Joe’s mouth as he pushes in harder. Joe curls over Gwil, his forearms pressed to the bed on either side of Gwil’s head, bracketing him in, and he pulls back, and thrusts back in, starting a gentle rhythm. 

“God, your— yes, Joe,” Gwil breathes, eyes fluttering shut. “Right there.”

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Joe murmurs, looking down at Gwil, watching the expressions flit across his face, the way his eyes flicker, as Joe keeps thrusting into him. “God, Gwil, I wanna…”

Gwil murmurs and slowly opens his eyes, looking up at him. “Want to what?” he asks.

“Just—” Joe shakes his head, unable to think about anything except Gwil wrapped around him, and his body beneath him. “Fucking—” He thrusts a bit harder, and Gwil gasps, eyes closing again. “There, that’s— just— Gwil.”

“Uh-huh,” Gwil nods, trailing his fingertips down over Joe’s back, feeling the shift of his muscles. He smooths his hand down over Joe’s hip, and then grips at him, just holding tight to him as Joe’s hips move back and forth.

“You’re so…” Joe groans and drops his mouth down, biting at Gwil’s chest, and then he kisses the skin, nuzzling against him. “Love you.”

“Love you,” Gwil echoes, nodding. “Fu— keep…don’t stop.”

“No,” Joe says, “not— won’t.”

Gwil wraps his arms around Joe, holding him close as their bodies rock together on the mattress. He keeps murmuring against him, some of it just babbled nonsense, some of it Joe picks up, hearing his name more than a few times. Gwil moves his hand back to Joe’s hip, fingers digging into him; Joe can’t see it, but he knows that Gwil is leaving red marks against his pale skin. 

“Gwil,” Joe gasps out.

“Mm, yes, fuck.”

“Gwil,” Joe says again, nuzzling his nose against Gwil. He moves his mouth over him, his chest, his neck. He’s not really kissing Gwil, just panting against him. He drags his teeth over Gwil’s chin, and then he leans over him, looking down at Gwil, sharing his breath.

Gwil tilts his head up, brushing his lips against Joe’s, nuzzling his nose against him, and then he presses back against the pillow.

“How you doing?” Joe asks, and Gwil just nods, face flushed, eyes squeezed shut. Joe ducks his head, kissing Gwil’s cheek, then teasing his tongue over Gwil’s ear. “Want me to touch you?” he asks softly. 

“Yes.”

“Want me to jerk you off and make you come?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Gwil gasps out, grip on Joe tightening. “Oh fuck, Joe, please.”

“Mm,” Joe murmurs, and he shifts his weight, reaching one hand between them, wrapping around Gwil’s cock.

“Yes, yes!” Gwil exclaims, voice breaking as he cries out, whining softly in Joe’s ear. “Oh, Joe— I— love— don’t stop.” His teeth drag over his bottom lip, and he cries out again. “Goo— good? God, love y— yes.”

“Right here,” Joe murmurs, and he wets his lips before he leans down to kiss Gwil again. He starts to thrust in harder and faster; as much as they love the idea of going slow, taking their time, it never really works out that way. They’re not that good at slow.

“Yes, fuck, Joe,” Gwil gasps, arching up off the bed. “I— I want to— right there— gonna—”

“I got you,” Joe says, and his hand is just moving over Gwil now like a reflex, he’s not even thinking about it. He keeps thrusting into him, over and over, twisting his grip on Gwil’s cock. He can feel how much Gwil is leaking over his hand and between their stomachs, and Joe’s mouth waters at the thought. Joe squeezes Gwil one more time, and then reluctantly pulls his hand away.

“No, no, no,” Gwil whines, “no, I wanna—” 

“Shh, shh,” Joe murmurs, and he kisses Gwil deeply, thrusting harder. Joe keeps working his hips, letting the pleasure wash over him in waves, and then it hits him in the gut, and he comes, loudly gasping, hips stuttering into Gwil. He keeps thrusting as he keeps coming, and then Joe gasps again, breathing heavily as he curls over Gwil.

“Joe,” Gwil whines again.

“I know, I know,” Joe says, and he kisses Gwil’s chest. “I just— I want to use my mouth. One second.” He catches his breath— or almost; he doesn’t want to make Gwil wait _too_ long. He pushes himself up and reaches down, carefully pulling out of Gwil. He moves down over him, kissing his chest, his stomach, licking up precum from his skin before he takes Gwil’s cock into his mouth, sucking him down.

Gwil thrusts his hips up almost immediately, gripping his fingers into Joe’s hair. He shivers and gasps as Joe moans around him, swirling his tongue around, sucking harder, and Gwil lifts his head up off the pillow, looking down at Joe, his auburn hair, watching Joe bob his head up and down. “Jesus,” Gwil moans, and he gently thrusts his hips up again. Joe opens his eyes, and looks up at him, and Gwil cups Joe’s cheek in his hand, brushing his thumb over his lip where it’s stretched around Gwil’s cock. Joe moans again and closes his eyes, reaching one of his hands up to move his fingers around the base of Gwil’s cock, playing with his balls, and Gwil’s head falls back against the pillow. “Joe, I’m— I’m gonna—”

Joe moans and nods around him, and Gwil raises his hand to his mouth, biting down on one of his fingers, an old habit he used to have to quiet himself, before he pulls it away, crying out loudly. Joe pulls back a bit, playing his tongue around the head of Gwil’s cock, and Gwil moans again, thighs quaking.

“Gonna— there, uh-huh, yes, Joe, I—” Gwil gasps loudly, and he arches up off the bed, coming into Joe’s mouth.

Joe moans, swallowing around him, still swirling his tongue around.

Gwil collapses back against the mattress, breathing heavily. He slowly releases his grip on Joe’s hair, smoothing it down, and then he gasps again, taking a deep breath.

Joe looks up at him and then slowly pulls off, swallowing hard, reaching up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. He sits up between Gwil’s legs, breathing heavily himself as he looks down at Gwil. He rubs his hand up and down over Gwil’s thighs, smiling faintly. “Are you alive?” he asks softly, voice rough.

“No.”

“Oh no,” Joe says sadly, but his smile has grown. “Gwil, do you know what that means?”

Gwil groans. “You’re going to have to tell my parents you killed me,” he says.

Joe stretches out, settling down next to Gwil on the bed, curling against him. “It means you’re going to be a ghost,” he says. “Just like on the TV show.”

“There are worse places to haunt, I suppose,” Gwil says.

Joe snorts. “Yeah, it’d be a real hardship,” he says. “A fucking movie theatre and a golf simulator.”

“I’d be set.” Gwil reaches up, scratching at his chest, and then he blinks a few times, looking over at Joe. “I wouldn’t have you, though.”

Joe smiles, warmth blooming in his chest, and he leans forward, giving Gwil a soft kiss. “No,” he says. “But I could rent it, stay here with you.” He stretches out, and rests his head on Gwil’s chest. “That’d be okay.”

“Oh, that’d be lovely,” Gwil says. “It’d be like Casper.”

“I like that movie,” Joe says softly.

They rest there together for a few minutes, until they feel sticky, and start to ache in a few places, and Joe finally moves away from Gwil’s chest, and Gwil sits up.

“Which bathroom do we want to clean up in?” Gwil asks, looking down at Joe.

“Oh god,” Joe says. “Mm. That one on the third floor has the shower with the built-in seat,” he says.

“That is nice,” Gwil says, looking around the room.

“Our bathroom has the best tub, though,” Joe continues, and Gwil nods. “Wanna get in the hot tub?”

“I’m not sure,” Gwil says. “You’re such a pervert, every time we go in there, you just want to have sex after.”

“Oh yeah,” Joe says sarcastically, “like that’s been really tough for you.”

Gwil smiles, and leans in, giving Joe a kiss. “It has,” he says, “really, truly.”

“I say sit-down shower,” Joe says. “Then we get back in our comfy clothes until bed.”

“Mm, that sounds brilliant,” Gwil says. He rolls off the bed, pushing himself up, and then he stretches his arms out above his head. He walks over to the window, about to open the blinds.

“What are you doing?” Joe asks quickly.

“Opening them,” Gwil says, glancing behind him. 

“No way,” Joe says, standing up. He glances around, and grabs a Kleenex, taking off the condom, and folding it up. “Let me just— ugh,” he says. “Gwil, don’t open those blinds, that’s creepy!” He unlocks the bedroom door and hurries out into the bathroom, tossing the tissue away.

“But I want to show everybody my body,” Gwil says, and Joe rolls his eyes.

“The ghosts are seeing enough already,” Joe says, walking back into the bedroom, reaching down to pick up their clothes. “You don’t need to give it away to the neighbours too.”

“I think they’d love it,” Gwil says, but he turns away from the window anyway. “A young Brian May, naked as the day he was born. Bit of a treat!”

Joe snorts at that, grinning up at Gwil. “Come on,” he says. “It’s going to be scary enough going upstairs in the dark, I don’t need you slowing me down.”

“We could race,” Gwil says, and Joe thinks for a moment, but Gwil just playfully pushes by him and starts to run anyway.

“I— what, Gwil, no fair!” Joe turns, running after him, trying not to drop their clothes. He remembers that the lube is on the nightstand, but he’s not sticking around alone to go grab it.

\+ + + + +

“Okay,” Joe says, smiling over at Gwil as he keeps talking to Ginnie on the phone. “Yes. Yes. I know. No, let me tell him— oh, okay. Sure. I will pass it on. Okay. See you in a couple days. I love you too, bye.” Joe hits end on the phone, tossing his phone onto the coffee table.

“Oh, what are you supposed to tell me?” Gwil asks.

“Well,” Joe says, stretching his arms up above his head. “Mom said we shouldn’t go skiing tomorrow.”

Gwil snorts. “Not bloody likely. It’s our last day!”

“That’s why we shouldn’t,” Joe says. “She says it would be much better to stay in bed.”

Gwil smiles and rolls his eyes. “She said that? Or _you_ said that?”

“I don’t know,” Joe says. “Just something to think about.”

“We’ll finish early tomorrow,” Gwil says, “I promise. We’ll have a nice night in. But not going at all, I—” He scoffs. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”

“Oh, I think I know you _pretty_ well, big guy.” Joe stretches out on the sofa, yawning loudly. Gwil lifts Joe’s feet onto his lap, and Joe murmurs softly, smiling over at him. “Thank you,” he says.

“You’re welcome,” Gwil says, pushing his fingers up under the hem of Joe’s sweatpants, gently rubbing Joe’s ankle. Gwil looks back over at the television, though Joe is only sort of half paying attention. He can’t take his eyes off Gwil. He can’t stop thinking about how _comfortable_ he is here. Not just literally on the sofa, Gwil rubbing his foot, though that is nice. But in a house, with Gwil. Just the two of them. Joe knows that living together is a lot more than just a week away in a ski chalet, but everything on this trip has just confirmed how much Joe loves Gwil, and he’s pretty sure that Gwil feels the same way. Of course he does, that’s never been in question. But they live on different continents, and neither of them are out. Well, to the world. Their friends and families are _well_ aware.

“Gwil,” Joe says, flexing his foot, and Gwil glances over at him. “Do you like this?” he asks.

“Like what?” Gwil asks, glancing back at the television. “This?”

Joe glances at the TV, honestly not even sure what they’re watching. “No,” he says, looking at Gwil. “ _This_ , us, here.”

“Yes, of course I do,” Gwil says. “It’s been amazing. You know that.” He smiles faintly. “You _do_ know that, right? I tell you enough?”

“Yeah, of course,” Joe says. “I just meant…do you think— well— has it made you think at all about…us?”

“Us?” Gwil echoes, and Joe sighs, sitting up, trying not to kick Gwil as he moves his legs off his lap.

“Yeah, _us_ ,” Joe says. “Like…you’re my boyfriend, I’m your boyfriend.”

“Yes,” Gwil says. “And…” He reaches out to Joe, taking his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Joe says, squeezing Gwil’s hand gently. “But doesn’t being here, with me, in this amazing house, together…doesn’t it make you think of…us? Together?” Gwil just blinks at him. “Gwil, I think we should move in together,” Joe says suddenly, and Gwil withdraws his hand from his. Joe’s mouth falls open in shock, and he looks down at their hands, and then blinks at Gwil. “I— wow,” Joe says. “I guess not.” He pushes himself up, hurrying away from the sofa.

“Joe, no,” Gwil says, standing up, going after him.

“Just—” Joe shakes his head, reaching up to rub at his eyes. All that’s running through his head right now is that this house is like a maze; if he could just shake Gwil off for a second, he could lose him. He could have a minute to himself. 

“Joe, that’s not what I meant,” Gwil says, and he reaches out to Joe, but Joe just shakes off his grasp. “Joe, please let me talk to you, please hear me out.”

“Why?” Joe asks. “I— you made yourself pretty clear.” He heads up the stairs, and then glances around, heading to the left. He opens the first door he reaches and steps inside.

“Joe,” Gwil says, stopping at the door, watching Joe walk over to the window, looking out over the snow. He sighs, resting against the doorframe, watching Joe press himself to the glass. “Joe,” he says softly.

“No, it’s fine,” Joe says, wiping at his face. “We just— we’re not in the same place. That’s okay.” He sniffles. “Great.”

“ _Joe_ ,” Gwil says insistently, like it’s the only word he can remember, so Joe spares him a glance, seeing the sad look on Gwil’s face. “We’re very much in the same place,” Gwil says. “I— I was just surprised, I _swear_.”

Joe looks at Gwil, his hand up against his mouth, trying to use his sleeve to catch any tears running down his cheeks. 

“I swear,” Gwil says, and he finally takes a step into the room. “Joe,” he says. “Did you really think I wouldn’t want to live with you?”

“I don’t know,” Joe says softly. “I just—” He sniffles. “I shouldn’t have sprung it on you like that, you’re right.”

“It’s alright,” Gwil says softly, and he takes another step towards Joe, hand slipping into his pocket. “I don’t mind. But I was surprised.” He smiles faintly at Joe. “I think you’re right,” he says. “I think we should live together.”

“Yeah?” Joe asks, and Gwil nods. “Really?”

“Of course,” Gwil says. “Joe, I love you, why wouldn’t I want to live with you?”

“I don’t know,” Joe says. “You didn’t— ask.”

“No, you’re right,” Gwil says. He reaches his left hand out to Joe, and Joe looks down at it before he slowly reaches his hand out as well, taking Gwil’s. “I didn’t. Of course,” Gwil says, slipping his right hand out of his pocket, revealing a small box within, “I was planning on asking you something else.”

Joe’s eyes widen, and he looks at Gwil, watching as he gets down on one knee, looking back up at him. “Shut up,” Joe says softly, and Gwil grins.

“How is that any better than me taking my hand away from yours?” Gwil asks.

“You’re— it’s not, you’re right,” Joe says. “Gwil, what are you doing down there?”

“What do you think?” Gwil asks, opening the box, revealing a golden band within. “Joe—”

“Oh, no, Gwil,” Joe says, shaking his head. “We— I’m crying, and I just— oh, Gwil,” he says, and he drops to his knees in front of Gwil, reaching out to put his hand on Gwil’s wrist. “Is this how you want to remember proposing to me? After I just stormed off like a toddler?”

“This is exactly how I want to remember proposing to you,” Gwil says. “At a beautiful house we rented in Utah, after we spent the week together, having the most brilliant time time of our life.” He smiles at Joe. “Then we can tell our families at Christmas.”

“God,” Joe says, sniffling. “You like— _planned_ this.”

“Of course I did,” Gwil says. “I brought the ring for a reason.”

“Why didn’t—” Joe bites his lip, and looks down at the ring, reaching out to gently touch it, but Gwil snaps the box closed. “Wha—”

“You don’t get to wear the ring if you don’t let me actually ask you,” Gwil says. 

Joe smiles. “Okay,” he says softly.

“So, can I ask you?” Gwil asks.

Joe blinks a couple times, his smile fading. “But I ruined it,” he says softly.

“No, you didn’t,” Gwil says, and he leans in, giving Joe a gentle kiss. “But…if you want me to wait, I can.”

Joe looks at Gwil, studying the smile on his face, the hopeful shine in his eyes, and then he smiles again. “No,” he says, “I— I’d like you to ask me.”

Gwil’s smile widens, and he opens the box again. “Joe,” he starts, “will you—”

“Yes!” Joe exclaims, throwing himself at Gwil, throwing them both off balance, sending them to the floor. 

Gwil laughs loudly, wrapping his arm around Joe’s waist, holding him close as they both curl up on their sides. “Marry me?” Gwil finishes, and Joe nods eagerly, pulling Gwil in for a kiss. Gwil rolls onto his back, pulling Joe onto his lap as they keep kissing. 

Joe pulls back, sitting up, looking down at Gwil with a smile, and then Gwil takes the ring out of the box, taking Joe’s left hand, sliding the ring down his finger. “Gwil,” Joe says softly, immediately touching his ring. 

“I had a speech planned and everything,” Gwil says, resting his hands on Joe’s thighs, looking up at him.

“I bet,” Joe says. “You’re the best at speeches.”

“Do you want to hear it?” Gwil asks.

Joe smiles, shaking his head as he leans down to give Gwil a gentle kiss. “Not right now, no,” he says. “But someday,” he says. “Maybe even tomorrow. But right now…this is perfect right now.”

“Okay,” Gwil says, and he leans up, kissing Joe again. “Joe,” he says.

“Mm,” Joe murmurs, kissing him. 

“I’m excited to move in with you,” Gwil says, and Joe snorts, trying not to laugh.

“Oh, really,” Joe says sarcastically.

“Of course I am,” Gwil says.

“Your moment kind of blew my moment away,” Joe says.

“I don’t think so,” Gwil says, “I think they were perfectly complimentary.” He smiles up at Joe. “I’m excited for the other thing too.”

“Our _wedding_?” Joe asks.

“No,” Gwil says, and Joe frowns a bit. “Our marriage.”

“God, you’re cheesy,” Joe says, and he smiles, leaning down to kiss Gwil. He cups Gwil’s face in his fingers, starting to gently rock against him as they continue kissing, and Gwil’s hands slide from Joe’s thighs up over and his hips, settling on his ass. “Gwil.”

“Mm.”

“Do you want to go celebrate in the hot tub with me?” 

Gwil smiles. “And what does _celebrate_ entail?” he asks.

“Just…” Joe shrugs, and then shifts on top of Gwil, laying down, snuggling against his chest. “Together,” he says, taking a deep breath, relaxing against him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Gwil murmurs, and he tilts his head, pressing a kiss to the top of Joe’s head, gently rubbing his back. They rest there, snuggled together, for a few more moments, before Joe looks up.

“Where are we?” he asks.

Gwil laughs, and then tilts his head back, trying to look around the room. “Not sure which room this is, honestly,” he says.

“Let’s go back downstairs,” Joe says, rolling himself off Gwil, trying to avoid pushing himself up and elbowing him in the gut or something. 

They both get to their feet, and Gwil takes Joe’s hand, then reaches down to pick up the ring box, sliding it back into his pocket. “Do you really want to get in the the hot tub?” Gwil asks.

“I just want to be with you,” Joe says. “The sofa, the hot tub, bed, I…” He squeezes Gwil’s hand, looking at him as they walk back down the hallway. “Anywhere, anything.” He pouts a little. “I just wish we had some champagne.”

“We do,” Gwil says.

“No, we don’t,” Joe says, “I wanted some a few days ago. We didn’t buy any.”

Gwil smiles, and stops walking where they are on the stairs, and he kisses Joe again. “How many refrigerators do you reckon this place has?” Joe just looks at him. “Go sit wherever you want to sit,” Gwil says.

“Where’s the champagne?”

Gwil laughs. “I said go sit,” he says. “I’ll pour us a couple glasses.” They walk down the stairs, and Joe just turns, watching Gwil. “Where should I meet you?” Gwil asks.

“What do you mean?” Joe asks. “You’re not getting rid of me that quick.”

“Go sit,” Gwil says again, and he kisses Joe before nudging him away. “You wanted the hot tub, didn’t you? I’ll meet you out there.” He smiles at Joe, and then walks by him, heading over to the other staircase, going down.

Joe just shifts back and forth on his feet, and then he touches his ring, smiling. He glances down the hallway towards their bedroom, and the hot tub, but then he looks back at the sofa too, thinking.

When Gwil walks back upstairs, bottle of champagne in his hands, he looks around, then grabs a couple glasses. He turns to head down the hallway, and then Joe calls out, “out here!” Gwil pauses and turns, and smiles when he sees Joe sitting out on the balcony, blankets wrapped around him. “Well, hello,” Gwil says, stepping outside. It’s not exactly a nice night, it’s a bit windy, and there’s some snow blowing, but it’s still fairly clear. They can still see the reservoir. “I’m surprised to see you out here,” he says.

“It’s okay, isn’t it?” Joe asks, watching as Gwil sits down next to him, and he reaches out to take the glasses from him.

“Absolutely,” Gwil says, and he opens the champagne, making both of them jump and smile. “Here you are,” he says, filling the first glass, then the second. He leans down, setting the bottle on the floor, and then he takes a glass from Joe. “Cheers,” Gwil says, and they clink their glasses together, both taking a drink.

Joe makes a quiet noise, shifting closer to Gwil, looking out over the reservoir. “I can’t believe you brought me to Park City just to propose to me,” he says.

“Well, not _just_ ,” Gwil says, smiling at Joe, playfully nudging his shoulder, and Joe smiles back.

“I can’t believe how nice it is here,” Joe says.

“It’s gorgeous,” Gwil says, taking a sip of champagne.

“Me or the view?” Joe asks.

Gwil chuckles softly as he leans in, pressing a kiss to Joe’s temple. “Definitely you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by an ask I wrote on tumblr a few months ago, where Gwil and Joe are in a ski lodge together. I'd always wanted to write just another short snippet as a sequel to it, and yes my idea involved a hot tub, but then I decided, hey why not just a full story? and then why not have it be long as hell? I never really intend that part to happen, but then it does anyway. And then it was just all the fluff and sweetness in the world. It may be a bit early for what is basically a Christmas fic, but you know what? no, it's not, ha. 
> 
> This is about as purely self-indulgent as you can get, haha. I hate skiing, I don't really like snow, but please let me just spend a week in a secluded mansion with these guys. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it! Thank you as always!


End file.
